Small world: Pepe brother surfaces at Ewing ski shop

Martin Griff / The TimesMichael Pepe at work at Lang's Ski and Scuba in Ewing.

While shopping for skis for my daughter at Lang's Ski and Scuba on North Olden Ave. in Ewing Township, I met the manager Michael Pepe, a man with quite a pedigree in the ski business.

Michael's brother Paul E. Pepe was the force behind promoting Hunter Mountain in New York Catskill region during its early years. . Paul ran a Madison Avenue public relations firm and used his Broadway connections to put Hunter on the map.

Hunter is celebrating its 50th anniversary this season. Paul wrote a book about Hunter's history in 1993. I got mine autographed by Hunter owner Orville Slutsky in 2000.

Paul Pepe's book. That's Hunter owners Izzy and Orville Slutsky on the cover. Izzy passed away in January, 2006. Ninety one-year-old Orville still shows up at the mountain for work every day at 5:30 a.m.

Orville Slutsky signed the title page of my copy of the book on January 18, 2000. I spent an hour interviewing him that day and learned a lot about business and life. His most important accomplishment . . . The family that he raised with his wife Ethel. ``Three children, all married; seven grandchildren, and they all live within five miles of the mountain.''

At Lang's, I learned that Paul did not ski and depended on his brother for slopeside assistance. . "He only skied once. I did all the ski photography and led V.I.P.s on tours around the mountain," Michael explained.

Paul is retired now, splitting his time between his homes in Long Island, N.Y. and Florida.

Another brother, Phil, may be familiar to Yankee fans. He was the Yankees beat writer for the New York World Telegram & Sun from 1961-64, and for the New York Daily News from 1971-84. and wrote many books about the team.

Michael has a son Kris, who was a moguls coach for the U. S. Ski Team. He is now coaching a ski team in Telluride, Colo.

Michael celebrates a year working at Lang's this Monday. The Langhorne, Pa. resident came to this area with his wife, for her job at Jones New York in Bristol, Pa. "She's back in Manhattan, but we're still here," Michael said.

And that's a good thing for central Jersey snowsliders who want to talk shop with a guy who knows the business inside and out.